The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

  • From The Washington Post: “What do writers think about writing? We asked authors participating in the National Book Festival to share their thoughts on a few writerly subjects. Here’s a small selection of what they had to say.”
  • The Iowa Review has launched an online Forum on Literature and Translation.
  • “There are two crucial parts to every writing career: The first is the writing and completion of your manuscript and preparing it for acquisition and publication, and the second is everything that goes along with the production, marketing, sale and distribution of your book. Knowing how all this comes together doesn’t just increase your odds of crafting a submission that will get you a deal—it also gives you a better chance of impacting the decisions that can make or break your book’s success.” Read the full article by Jerry D. Simmons here.
  • Over on the Dollars & Deadlines blog, Kelly James-Enger offers a Q&A with Gretchen Roberts on the topic of “full-time income in part-time hours.”
  • Chantal Panozzo (“Writer Abroad”) suggests a thoroughly modern character development exercise. (Hint: Facebook is involved.)
  • A couple of shamelessly self-promotional items. First, if you missed my essay on writing 9/11 fiction (it began as a conference paper, was published in 2004, and was republished this month), you can find it here. I’m also proud to have my poem, “Umbilicus,” featured over on the Adanna website, alongside many wonderful pieces on the theme of motherhood.